Mix & Master - Pop & Indie

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: At the very start of the process I send a form to every artist I work with which allows them to tell me all the details about what they're looking for. This helps us to be on the same page from the start and ensure that I totally understand what it is they're trying to do. Once I have the form back, I'll ask for the multitracks and a rough mix which I'll listen to a couple of times to get a feel for how it aligns with the information they've given me and then we'll have a conversation about any things I think we can enhance or develop further. Once we're all happy that we're on the same page, I'll put together the first mix. I know a lot of mixers don't like doing revisions but for me it's a crucial part of the process. My first mix is typically a 'broad strokes' mix to get a vibe and overall feeling going within the song, then I'll use the artist's revisions to really nail down the details. This is a much better way of working for me. In my experience, it's much easier to send a first mix which isn't totally complete and work with the artist to finish it rather than sending over something which is already baked in and trying to unpick the details of it to take it somewhere else.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: 'DEMAND' - Does Everything Make A Noticeable Difference? Only do things that definitely impact the production. If I can't hear a difference that a certain part is making, or a certain plugin, then it's almost guaranteed that the average listener isn't going to hear a difference. Get rid of anything that isn't making a noticeable difference.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I always aim to communicate as clearly as I possibly can with the people I'm working with. A lot of the time when people reach out to work with me they've got stories about engineers they've worked with in the past and they often say things like "the last person who mixed our record just didn't get it, they didn't take any of the notes on board and what we ended up with wasn't what we had in mind". My promise is to not be that guy! I try my best to understand exactly what the artist wants and deliver that. And if the artist isn't totally sure what they want, it's important to communicate ideas to help them find that thing they're looking for. If there's things I think could be done differently I'll communicate that first, or if there's any reason things might not be delivered on time - I'll always be as clear and as honest as I possibly can with my clients.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been doing this professionally for about 10 years now. My experiences started making Hip Hop beats, then I went on to play in rock bands, then to producing singer-songwriters and now I've landed at mixing pop music, and I feel like somehow I manage to take something from all of those experiences and apply it to what I do now.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like big drums and clear vocals. I'm also a big fan of productions that incorporate fresh new sounds with more 'retro' sounding elements.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I'd love to work with Jack Antonoff. His approach to production and creating music is really interesting to me and he seems like a great guy to be around.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Mostly pop music. More specifically indie pop and pop music that has some unique flavour in it somewhere.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Knowing how to get the vocal to sit has always been something that I've felt I have a knack for, so yeah my strongest skill for a technical point of view is probably to do with getting the vocal right in the mix. Aside from purely mix-based skills, I'm an organised person and I take communication very seriously, which I think is a skill.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like mixes that have contrast - some gritty elements combined with pretty elements. Contrast is what gives the music depth and excitement so I like to try and bring that to a mix wherever possible.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My setup is mostly ITB with a few pieces of select hardware. Being able to turn around mixes quickly and efficiently for artists is really important to me so I'm always looking for practicality and efficiency as much as anything when putting my studio together.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: The majority of my work is mixing pop music, particularly indie pop artists.